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Connected cars to offer huge potential for mobile operators

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Soma Tah
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BANGALORE, INDIA: Analysys Mason's latest report on connected cars provides a 10-year forecast of new cars sold with a connectivity solution.

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Morgan Mullooly, Analyst at Analysys Mason and co-author highlights some key findings from the report:

The first ‘car phone' was used by Bell Telephone Company in the USA in 1946. The first generation of mobile telephone technology (1G) that was introduced in the 1980s was mainly used by devices installed in cars rather than carried around in pockets and handbags.

Now, in-car connectivity and communication technology has come full circle. Vehicle manufacturers are bringing many models to market during 2014 and 2015 with embedded cellular connectivity - giving consumers an early glimpse of what is possible when the automotive and telecoms worlds collaborate.

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Connected car technology is an aspect of the Internet of Things (IoT) that has huge potential for mobile network operators in the next 10 years. Almost half of all cars in use (worldwide) will have embedded connectivity by 2024, despite the long lifespan of modern vehicles. Also, by that time, just under 90 percent of new car sales vehicles will feature embedded connectivity.

Consumers will expect their experiences inside the car to be aligned with their experiences outside of the car, meaning that they will want access to all the apps and services they are used to in their modern digital lifestyles. They will also expect their streaming media and infotainment services in their cars to have the same degree of reliability and uptime as they do when they tune in to FM radio.

As a consequence, mobile network operators will have to rethink how they build-out their next-generation 4G networks. Operators have typically prioritised urban population centres when designing and upgrading networks - particularly in the case of LTE deployment - but MNOs that seek to capitalise on increased data usage will need to prevent radio link failures, interference, bad coverage and unsuccessful handovers along roads.

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